E-M1 and 12-40mm f/2.8

[jonoslack]

I'm due for a big sell off of excess stuff. Maybe I'll get it organized this weekend. It would be nice to pay for the E-M1 that way, put the money back in the bank for travel and other fun.

Same here . . . .but excitement for the new camera seems to have got me buying accessories - the adapter for 43 lenses . . . the 60mm macro . . the VF4 . . . . and (big oops - those 'buy' buttons are so easy) an E-P5

So, a big sale is in order - first to go will be the two nice panasonic zooms, the 12-35 and the 35-100 . . . and a Leica 180 f2.8 Apo R lens . . . and lots of other stuff!

 

[Godfrey]

Same here . . . .but excitement for the new camera seems to have got me buying accessories - the adapter for 43 lenses . . . the 60mm macro . . the VF4 . . . . and (big oops - those 'buy' buttons are so easy) an E-P5

So, a big sale is in order - first to go will be the two nice panasonic zooms, the 12-35 and the 35-100 . . . and a Leica 180 f2.8 Apo R lens . . . and lots of other stuff!

LOL! Yup, some "necessary" expenditures. ;-)

I took advantage of the rebate offer and ordered an MMF-3 ... already have an MMF-2, but it will be nice to have the weather-sealed version for the 11-22 and it will be free once the rebate is paid. Need to get mount adapters for the Leica R and maybe the Leica M lenses too. Probably should just order the Novoflex adapters and be done with it.

BTW, I noticed in the manual that the E-M1 includes a little FL-LM2 accessory flash in the box. Not that I need one, but it's a nice to have.

G

 

[Brian Mosley]

I don't know what kind of alloy Olympus used for their new weathersealed 4/3rds adapter, but it makes my old Lumix adapter feel like cast iron. Nice and lightweight

Cheers

Brian

 

[Vivek]

If I had any brain at all and wasn't so caught up in "old-machine-nostalgia", I would dump all my Nikon gear tomorrow and go all m4/3. Image and video qualities are good enough by a mile or more, and ergonomics are vastly superior.

Well, you are not alone there. Though one of the early adopters of the m43rds with the G1, i use a Leica MM. No AF and pretty drab colors. It does quite well and i do nt miss the live view at all.

Unfortunately, i am very bad when it comes to buying and selling, otherwise I would have had no problem in buying the EM5 or the EM1 (Still have my D300 and quite a few lenses, including the fabulous 10.5mm Nikkor, still very few lenses from any system can catch up to its performance).

FWIW, I would have chosen the D7100 for a match up against the OM D. No AA and sensor sizes pretty close.

 

[raist3d]

If I can get more hands on time with it, I'll let you know how it performs in very low light, but it seems to do better (as with typical pdaf) with high contrast edges - especially vertical lines.

Performance definitely on a par with E-3 (from personal experience) - with potential to be better if Olympus keep pushing the firmware developers (you know how that goes Ricardo, last in - most pressure before launch!). Hybrid cdaf/pdaf has a lot of potential.

Cheers

Brian

I agree this is the kind of thing that could be improved with firmware upgrades. Given the camera seems to pack a lot of tech power wise, I would not be surprise it is very "malleable" to re-program by Olympus post-launch.

- Ricardo

 

[raist3d]

Hi There Ricardo
Here is a link to dPreview's updated page:
AF performance

They seem to think the tracking with µ43 lenses is on a par with the Nikon 1, and that with the 43 lenses it's on a par with the E5 - but as you suggested, probably not so good in lower light.

All the best

Thanks Jono. I actually had seen it and it's the closest to a description but they really glossed over it test wise. I hope they can update that for their full review.

All cameras will do worse in lower light but cameras like the E-3/E-5 would try to lock (and lock when they work correctly) in lower light than say an E-620. I wonder what the reasonable EV rating is.

As a side note- that Panasonic rates their GX7 down to -4 EV ("star lit sky") I have to admit I wondered how marketing would show this feature well and I have to give it to them- it's pretty funny. They have a photo of an owl at night in some woods or something! Man All those midnight birders!

- Ricardo

 

[limbonaut]

Well, you are not alone there. Though one of the early adopters of the m43rds with the G1, i use a Leica MM. No AF and pretty drab colors. It does quite well and i do nt miss the live view at all.

Unfortunately, i am very bad when it comes to buying and selling, otherwise I would have had no problem in buying the EM5 or the EM1 (Still have my D300 and quite a few lenses, including the fabulous 10.5mm Nikkor, still very few lenses from any system can catch up to its performance).

FWIW, I would have chosen the D7100 for a match up against the OM D. No AA and sensor sizes pretty close.

Someone started that comparison. Olympus OM-D E-M1 v Nikon D7100 | PhotographyBLOG

I pre-ordered mine after ming's review.

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

Another question is for how long larger sensor cameras will have a megapixel advantage that is meaningful to most photographers. Last night, I took this photo with the Nokia Lumia 808 (somewhat cropped):

It was taken in 34MP mode. Here's a 100% crop:

This is the sensor size of that ummmm... camera (the orange one in the middle):

The photo is taken at ISO 80 with a flash and it's a jpeg out of the camera. A D800 with a good prime lens would obviously do much better than this tiny device with a front-lit, 1.34µm pixel pitch sensor. But give it a few years and cram this kind of technology onto a back-lit m4/3 size sensor (the Nokia 1020 has a back-lit sensor with 1.12µm pixel pitch). I haven't done any calculations on this, but we obviously approach 3-digit MP-numbers.

Camera manufacturers know this of course, and there are good reasons why the Nikon 1 series has an even smaller sensor than m4/3. I would be surprised if Nikon doesn't see the V-cameras as future options for professional photographers. They are probably just waiting for technology to catch up. And before anybody starts talking about optical challenges like diffraction etc.: They will be solved. It may happen in software or in hardware, but problems will be solved. The Lumia is already pretty good, considering the size of it.

Some of us will of course on occasions still be carrying heavy, large sensor devices around for our amusement, either because we need it or because they like it. But the name of the future is "Small". The fact that compact mirrorless cameras haven't conquered the world yet doesn't necessarily mean that they won't do that in the future. It's very exciting stuff, don't you think?

 

[Brian Mosley]

I quite agree Jorgen,

in fact, I think the only thing limiting the future of digital imaging is ergonomics and the practicality of framing and shooting the image.

In that respect, I think that some variant of google glass could where things are headed... :toocool:

Cheers

Brian

 

[raist3d]

Another question is for how long larger sensor cameras will have a megapixel advantage that is meaningful to most photographers. Last night, I took this photo with the Nokia Lumia 808 (somewhat cropped):
[/img]

It really depends on what you are doing, what you need, what you want. Truth is, the photos would improve vastly more if more people focused on photography.

According to what you posted, the Pentax Q will take over the entire universe But seriously, it's one of the reasons I am using a Q for a lot of the stuff I am doing on the streets while it gives me invisibility (not posting pics here but got one new one last night, check at the usual Q thread place).

PS: Side note- back lit sensor tech does not scale well to bigger sensors, but a hugely densely packed 4/3rds (or higher) sensor can benefit at that point (at the point it's densely packed, like the smaller ones around).

 

[Annna T]

My order's in, I've downloaded the E-M1 Instruction Manual. I expect many hours of studying it in the next several weeks ... I'm no longer concerned with reviews and such. I want to know how it works and how to set it up when it arrives.

G

You could start there : suggested settings for the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Micro Four Thirds camera [Gary Ayton's photography wiki]

It is for the E-M5, but Olympus is quite conservative when it comes to the menus and features, so a lot should still be true for the E-M1. It is the perfect introduction for advanced photographers and look at things tasks by tasks (for instance how to optimize your settings for focusing manual legacy lenses and how to set up the camera so that the IS already kicks in while you are focusing longer lenses).

The E-M1 with its new PDAF capable sensor is of course different and there were some improvements concerning how to get a HDR or how you can affect custom cameras settings to the PASM dial instead of the IAuto or Artfilters and the way you call the smaller AF target and then the magnifier is improved, but still a lot of things should be useful..

Just sent my first query off to Olympus Tech Support: I see in the manual that the VF-3 and VF-4 are listed in the accessory section. I presume that the VF-2 is also compatible, but I'd like confirmation before I plug it in. It will be useful for copy-stand work.

G

For what it is worth : the VF-2 works perfectly on my E-M5..

 

[Brian Mosley]

Yes, anyone familiar with the Olympus menu system from the E-P1 onwards will find the E-M1 consistent.

The focus peaking and focus magnification options, when switched on for manual focus assist will only work with a lens with electronic feedback on the manual focus ring.

To switch either on manually (for legacy lenses), just allocate the function to an external button - I used the new function buttons at the front of the camera, just to right of lens mount for right hand use.

The new colour wheel control also has good potential for b&w pseudo colour filter - but I was shooting in a studio and couldn't get any good colour contrast to work with.

Cheers

Brian

 

[Godfrey]

Thanks for the link.

I'm generally pretty good at sussing out how to configure an Olympus at this point ... I've been through the various control and menu systems on quite a few of them now, including the E-PL1. But it's always good to see how what others have done as example.

I like to read the manual thoroughly first anyway. Usually a couple of times, for any digital camera I buy. There are lots of details to become aware of.

...
For what it is worth : the VF-2 works perfectly on my E-M5..

Yes, I was aware of that. That's why I found it a little surprising that the E-M1 manual mentioned the VF-3 and VF-4 only. It's just like the flash section ... yes, I know there are flash units now designed and optimized for the OM-D line, but are the FL-36 and FL-50 still compatible with the dedicated functions? Why wouldn't you say so in the manual?

I write manuals and technical documentation, it's omissions like these that annoy.

G

 

[MGrayson]

Now that I understand the focus capabilities better (thank you, Jono), what sold me is the (relatively) small size of the 40-150/2.8. Oh, and the close focus of the 12-40/2.8 is a real bonus.

And the whole package comes to less than a single tech camera lens....

And that package PLUS the next Oly body with improved PDAF (and the next one after that) is less than the cost of upgrading a digital back...

--Matt

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

Interesting comparison. The D600 with lens is more than twice as heavy, and even the D7100 is almost twice the weight of the E-M1 with lens. They aren't 100% compatible of course, since f/2,8 doesn't have the same consequences on the different formats, but then, the E-M1 has features like IBIS and articulated LCD, which Nikon owners can just dream about. Then there's price.

http://camerasize.com/compact/#482.336,381.336,440.322,378.327,ha,t

 

[Godfrey]

...
Just sent my first query off to Olympus Tech Support: I see in the manual that the VF-3 and VF-4 are listed in the accessory section. I presume that the VF-2 is also compatible, but I'd like confirmation before I plug it in. It will be useful for copy-stand work.

Olympus Tech Support responded. As expected, the VF-2 is fully compatible and supported by the E-M1. Should have asked about the FL36 at the same time, but I don't think I have to worry about that one.

Reading the manual, it seems they have improved the organization or he readability by some increment. But there's still a lot to remember...

G

 

[Thorkil]

Olympus Tech Support responded. As expected, the VF-2 is fully compatible and supported by the E-M1. Should have asked about the FL36 at the same time, but I don't think I have to worry about that one.

Reading the manual, it seems they have improved the organization or he readability by some increment. But there's still a lot to remember...

G

You then finally left the GX7 idea?
Thorkil

 

[Godfrey]

You then finally left the GX7 idea?

I find them both to be very appealing designs, and in some ways prefer the GX7 layout. But the E-M1's superior support of FourThirds SLR lenses and its other features convinced me it was the better pick for me, at least for the present. I've placed an order for one.

Who can say? I might sometime later also acquire a GX7 body.

G

 

[Thorkil]

by the way:
Olympus OMD EM1 quality | Cameralabs
thorkil
PS. don't forget to look at this for any that will use the Pana 7-14mm, which have strong purple flare artefacts, as claimed here
http://cameralabs.com/reviews/Olympus_OMD_EM1/#7-14mm_flare

 

[Godfrey]

I've been adding bits to this Wikipedia page as I come across them. Added CameraLabs review and Luminous Landscape's review links last evening and this morning.

Olympus OM-D E-M1 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

G